USA Hockey, women reach agreement
Just three days before hosting the world championships, USA Hockey and the women’s national team reached an agreement to end a wage dispute and avoid a boycott on home ice.
The four-year deal finalized Tuesday night pays players beyond the six-month Olympic period, up to US$129,000 if they win Olympic gold and improves development of the sport.
“We didn’t want to settle for something that wasn’t going to push women’s hockey as far as we thought it was able to go,” U.S. captain Meghan Duggan said. “Really excited about what this brings for the future of women’s hockey.”
The deal means players will be on the ice Friday in Plymouth, Mich., to begin their title defence against archrival Canada. The team is scheduled to practice Wednesday once everyone arrives for hurried preparations in advance of a tournament that now will be a celebration of USA Hockey instead of a stage for criticism after the dispute drew the attention of several sports unions and U.S. senators.
USA Hockey executive director Dave Ogrean said laying a foundation for the future of the women’s game was the crux of the agreement.
“It was critical to go through this process and to get this done, and I’m pretty sure that the women are very, very satisfied with where we ended up and it puts us in a great place to all move forward in a great way,” Ogrean said.
Coming off making just $1,000 a month for six months around the Olympics, this contract pays players roughly $3,000 a month. Annual compensation can surpass $70,000 when combined with contributions from the United States Olympic Committee.
Players receive Olympic medal bonuses of $20,000 for gold and $15,000 for silver from USA Hockey and $37,500 for gold, $22,500 for silver and $15,000 for bronze from the USOC. It could be a banner year for the women’s national team if successful at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The agreement includes insurance protection and the same business class travel the men get for the world championships.
“There was compromises on both sides, but the contract in its entirety, it’s going to change the lives of the current players that are on the team right now (and also) the next generation,” star forward Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson said by phone. “It’s going to be a turning point for women’s hockey in the U.S. (and) I feel like a turning point for women’s hockey in the world.”